What is this?

Olde English Christmas tradition...English recipe...

Winner receives an olde English libation!!!

The Christmas Elf 🎄


Sent from my iPhone

What is this?

Dueling hair dryers?

It's a generational object...first correct answer received...?!?

Griswold Christmas '15...

...as it should be!

Quiet evening...

... as the water stills for dinner time. We were usually tied up at the same place as the four-passenger, Randle, on our bow.

Cool, crisp morning ...

...with birds "talking", kitchen sounds and a sip of coffee as another beautiful day began.

Tuesday

Monday Apres Dinner

Before...and after. A very cultural event!

On the Barge Luciole

Highlights of Day 1 on the canal. At least 7 locks...worked by hand.

Rainy Greetings!...

...from Sandwich, MA. Charming, very old town with friendly people...at eastern end of Cape Cod Canal.

Mashpee is next town over.

Memory Lane

A foggy day is beautiful for fotos and memories -- when it is warm!

Victorian reflections...

...in Birmingham, walking to coach pick-up.

Next and last stop in Jolly Ole is airport!

Kissing Circle Walk

Setting out with this picture for a guide, I took a walk through the beautiful fields and farms that surround us here.

Humph...

The map does not show the large "hedges" I realized quickly. Nor are stiles easily found.

A few tumbles and stumbles later, I managed to find 3 of them, THEN?

I couldn't hear cars for the road I thought I was headed to, realized I missed the a stile, and was more or less surrounded by thin wires.

Hmmm. Are they electrified?

I decided to crawl under on my tummy. Only to eventually do the same under barbed wire, and climb over two large gates.

The drama ends when I saw my way to a large barnyard and asked how to get to School House Road. It was at the end of a long drive way.

The real mistake? Not accepting the offer of a ride back to Hoar Cross by a most handsome, red- cheeked and blue-eyed lad!

A beautiful afternoon!



Sent from my iPhone

Fwd: Medicare Part G

Hmmmm....

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lyn Strong <bmorfit@gmail.com>
Date: August 1, 2015 at 10:39:19 PM GMT+1
To: Carol Moison <carol.moison@gmail.com>, Debbie Ford <ddford8@gmail.com>, Janis LeCompte <jllecompte@gmail.com>, Laura Griswold <laurajgriswold@gmail.com>, Mike Manly <mlmanly@hotmail.com>, Michael Maloney <bridiemal@gmail.com>, Nancee Rembold <1jamaicagirl@cox.net>, Sue Gross <baaananaa@aol.com>
Subject: Fwd: Medicare Part G

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mary Blakeslee <mbthe5th@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, Aug 1, 201

  I offer the following to you after a whole lot of soul searching.

 

 Medicare - Part G - Nursing Home Plan

Say you're an older senior citizen and can no longer take care of yourself. The government says there's no Nursing Home care available for you. So, what do you do? You opt for Part G.

Our plan gives anyone 65 years or older a gun (Part G) and four bullets. You are allowed to shoot four politicians. This means, of course, that you'll be sent to prison where you'll receive three meals a day, a roof over your head, central heating & air conditioning, cable TV, library, and all the Health Care you need. Need new teeth? No problem. Need glasses? That's great. Need a hearing aid, new hip, knees, kidney, lungs, sex change, or heart? They're all covered.

As an added bonus, your kids can come and visit you at least as often as they do now!

And, who will be paying for all of this? The same government that just told you they can't afford for you to go into a home. And....you can get rid of 4 useless politicians while you're at it. And now, because you're a prisoner, you don't have to pay any more income taxes.

Is this a great country or what?

Now that I've solved your senior financial planning, enjoy your week.

Look Around

A peek at some of the landscape...

Stansted Area

Greetings from Stansted UK!

We are near an airport and railroad station and within walking distance of a very small town on many acres of fields with horses and sheep.

We awake each morning with the Baach Concerto -- sheep, pigeons and song birds. It is really lovely.

'Round & About Christchurch...

...with Nigel and Alison!

Coming Home!

En route to N'r'k! Then onto SFO. The wi-fi and plus-ins are real on UA!

Enjoyed walking around Paris yesterday afternoon and our few days by the the sea.

This is the small villages portion...

...of the Sunday drive!

Sunday Drive in the Country

Tiny roads through tiny towns...all magical.

Summer Truffle-hunting Adventure/A Trip to Another Paradise

Introducing Mirabelle, specially trained dog (an interesting tale onto itself) to discover truffles...why not boar? They tend to eat what they find, and sometimes catch a human finger in the process!

She got off to a slow start sniffing the ground, stopping and starting for about 10 minutes, as we followed her at a distance. She was the guide on this one!

Finally she sat down, her signal that "this was the spot." Her trainer and truffle-finder side-kick scratched through the dirt to find the truffle. When he did, he inserted a screw driver into the earth and at the bottom of the truffle and pried it out, sniffed it, had the dog sniff it and rewarded her with a treat. We watched this process for about a half an hour, gathering 8 truffles weighing some 4 lbs.

We returned to the farm house at sunset to be treated to champagne and several ways to serve truffles including ice cream!

It was a very interesting experience in a gorgeous rural area replete with olive trees and bee hives and vineyards!

Re: What is this?

Hi Laura, 

I think you got the email address wrong. I probably don't know you. I'm sorry about that.

Ryan Wong

On Wednesday, May 20, 2015, Laura Griswold <laurajgriswold@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Bloggettes,

This is my first missive from Isle sur Sorgue, a very, very small village in Provence, on a tiny island created by the river.

Many small canals criss-cross the island punctuated by large water wheels now covered with draping florescent green moss.

Having arrived (SFO-Newark-Paris-Marseille) Thursday afternoon. this is my first day out and about.

Now, you know where I am so the answer is obvious that there is no prize.

How ever, outside we are witnessing a weather pattern unique-to-Provence that causes temperatures drop dramatically.  When it occurs in the winter,  it keeps people inside for days at a time;  I once owned a small (12') sailboat with this name; and today we saw ducklings being blown down a narrow canal by this weather phenomenon. What is this?
(Scroll down for answer)

--
Ryan Wong

"The Invitation!"

(...says it all.)

And we have responded, accordingly...🙈🙉🙊

Our little town plus...

...walking to Sandy's & Germaine's, local church and a picnic in a smaller village.

To say "it's a beautiful life" is an understatement.